Online Reporting Forms

What Happens to Your Report?

Reports don’t always receive the same response, though all reports are reviewed by the Council’s team of expert biologists, entomologists, epidemiologists, and invasive species managers. It may take up to two weeks to receive a response to your report as we identify and contact the agency (agencies) that have expertise or authority to take action.

The Council does not directly take action—rather, we work with the agency (or agencies) that have authority or the resources to deal with the invasive species that was reported.
Unfortunately, it’s just not possible to take action on every invasive species report we receive. Staff and funding are limited, and in some parts of Washington, the reported invasive species may be too widespread to be managed with current resources.

Even if nobody is able to go out and manage the invasive species you reported, your report is still valuable. Your invasive species reports provide “distribution data” that tells us the locations of invasive species and lets us track their spread. This information is critical for making decisions about invasive species management and research.

Response Action Examples

Education and Outreach

In some instances, the invasive species is determined to be native by our team of experts. In these cases, we will follow up with you and provide information on the look-alike native species and how to tell it apart from the invasive.

In other instances, an invasive species is reported in an area where it is widespread and there are no resources or programs to able to assist. In these instances, we provide information to enable landowners to manage the invasive species.

Prevention

Many popular exotic pets aren't considered invasive species in Washington, but we still don't want them to be released into the wild. If an exotic pet is released into the wild, it may starve or not survive the winter. But if it survives, it may compete with native wildlife for shelter and food, sometimes even preying on the native species. On more than one occasion, the Council has received reports of exotic pets such as pythons being spotted in the wild. Your reports can help guide biologists or animal rescues to the location so that the pet can be captured and re-homed.

Early Detection and Rapid Response

Your reports can alert the experts about newer invasive species that haven’t taken over Washington yet, allowing us to react quickly to stop them. For example, feral swine are a huge problem in over 30 states but have not yet become established in Washington. In the past, citizen reports of feral swine have led to a swift response from an inter-agency team that have successfully stopped feral swine from spreading across Washington.

Containment, Control, and Eradication

Invasive African clawed frogs were reported in a storm water pond by someone taking a stroll during their lunch break. Their previous owner had dumped them there, where they reproduced quickly and took over the pond. The frogs carried an infectious disease that hurts native amphibians. The frogs were quickly contained by barriers installed around the pond by the landowner and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Currently, eradication efforts are ongoing to prevent these frogs from spreading and infecting more native amphibians—and it’s all possible because of the report we received.

Powered by EDDMapS

The Washington Invasive Species Council has partnered with the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) to collect your invasive species reports. EDDMapS is a web-based mapping system for documenting invasive species distribution and there are immense number of invasive species observations reported to this database each year. EDDMapS shares this data through distribution maps that are available to everyone, including researchers, land managers, and the interested public. By reporting invasive species to the Council, you’re contributing to this nationwide citizen science network